‘You get what you show up for.’ Early voting in Charlotte elections closes Saturday.
With four full days left of early voting in the election for Charlotte mayor and City Council, about 3% of Charlotte’s registered voter population has taken to the polls.
An analysis by Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer found Democrats have overperformed in turnout. While they make up 46% of Charlotte’s electorate, about 56% of early voters have been Democrats, Bitzer found.
More than 15,000 people have voted early so far. Of those, about 650 voted by mail and 14,500 voted in-person.
Kristin Mavromatis, a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg Board of Elections, said she’s been pleased with early voter turnout.
Though the number of ballots cast so far is lower than in previous election years, including 2019 and 2017, the number of sites is also lower this year. While this election is just for Charlotte mayor and City Council, the 2019 and 2017 elections included municipal races for Mecklenburg County towns like Davidson and Cornelius, as well as the school board.
Mavromatis said 18,000 people who voted early in 2019 —the previous municipal election — cast ballots at sites within the Charlotte city limits. She expects 2022 to surpass the 2019 number.
In all, about 30,000 people voted early in 2019 — about 28,900 voted early in-person.
“We won’t know until the bitter end,” she said about exceeding 2019 numbers.
‘You get what you show up for’
Normally, general elections for mayor and City Council happen in November, not July. They also normally happen in odd-numbered years, but delays to the U.S. Census pushed election day to 2022.
Bitzer said these factors are likely to keep turnout low.
He added that local elections such as City Council and mayor often have more daily impact on people’s lives than federal elections. While the federal government might provide some funding for a transit project, for example, the City Council decides where the project gets built.
They also make decisions regarding public safety, development and zoning, and wages for city employees.
“When you have 10% of the citizenry or less expressing their choice, you get what you show up for,” Bitzer said.
Election day is July 26. Early voting is open from Tuesday through Saturday. From Tuesday through Friday, polls are open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, polls are open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can register to vote at early voting sites and vote the same day. Voters cannot register and vote on election day.
Full list of Charlotte early voting sites
▪ Allegra Westbrooks Library: 2412 Beatties Ford Road (1,390 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Ballantyne — Community House Middle School: 9500 Community House Road (857 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center: 2921 Tuckaseegee Road (361 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Eastway Regional Recreation Center: 3150 Eastway Park Drive (1,075 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Hal Marshall Annex: 618 N College St. (690 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Independence Library: 6000 Conference Drive (1,191 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Marion Diehl Recreation Center: 2219 Tyvola Road (712 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Myers Park High School: 2400 Colony Road (585 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ South Charlotte area — Former Rite Aid, Carmel Commons: 7611 Pineville-Matthews Road (1969 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Southpark Regional Library: 7015 Carnegie Blvd. (2496 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ Steele Creek area — Former Taphaus49: 13230 Carowinds Blvd. (598 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ University area — Former Kohls: 9315 N Tryon St. (1735 votes as of Tuesday morning)
▪ West Boulevard Library: 2157 West Blvd. (825 votes as of Tuesday morning)
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 1:05 PM.
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